编辑“︁Einstein@Home”︁（章节）

=== 科學的目的 ===
[[File:BOINCManager.png|thumb|BOINC分布式计算项目]]
Einstein@Home應該不可能會成為首個直接量度得到[[引力波]]的計劃，雖然計劃的成功意味着可得到[[諾貝爾獎]]，但由於現時LIGO/GEO已發現一對[[黑洞]]正在合併，這次合併所產生的引力波，很大機會會在2006年由LIGO/GEO直接觀察得到。而這個計劃所做的，只是把LIGO/GEO從其他脈衝星所發出的引力波重新整理。<!--

 will probably not result in the first confirmed direct detection of a [[gravitational wave]], which is widely expected to lead to a [[Nobel Prize]].  This long-awaited event will most likely occur (perhaps as early as 2006) when LIGO/GEO detect a distinctive sequence of signals which should result from the inspiral and merger of a pair of [[black hole]]s.  In addition to searching their data for this kind of signal, the LIGO/GEO teams are also combing the data for signals which might come from bumps on the surface of ''known'' [[pulsar]]s.  The Einstein@Home project, in contrast, involves the massive initial screening for an ''all-sky search'' for ''previously unknown'' neutron stars.

A successful detection would constitute a huge milestone in physics, because this would be the first detection of a previously unknown astronomical object by means of gravitational radiation alone.  In a way, this would be even more exciting than the first confirmed direct detection of gravitational radiation, because it would constitute the unambiguous inauguration of a new age of ''gravitational wave astronomy''.

=== Data derived from LIGO and GEO research groups ===
The Einstein@Home program processes data from the LIGO and GEO instruments using [[Fast Fourier Transforms]]. The resulting signals are then analyzed using a method called ''matched filtering''.  This means that a hypothetical signal which might result if there were a physically plausible source of gravitational waves in the part of the sky being examined is computed, and the measured signal is compared to the hypothetical signal. A matching signal is a candidate for further examination by more sophisticated analysis.

== A distributed application like SETI ==
This project was launched as part of [[American Physical Society]]'s contribution to the [[World Year of Physics]] in [[2005]] as an attempt to leverage the power of volunteer-driven [[distributed computing]] in solving the  computationally intensive problem of analyzing a large volume of data. Such an approach was pioneered by the [[SETI@home]] project designed to look for signs of extra-terrestrial life by analyzing radio wave data and proved very successful (even though the project has not yet located/confirmed extra-terrestrial intelligence signals). 
* Applications for participating in the Einstein@Home project by donating free processor time are being solicited from the public as of [[January 2005]]. As of [[March 2006]], there are over a hundred thousand active participants, making it the second most popular public [[distributed computing]] project.

=== What signals the program looks for ===
Einstein@Home analyzes data from five separate measurement runs, numbered S1 through S5. On [[August 2]], [[2005]] the second analysis of S3 was completed. S3 was re-analyzed after improvements were made to the data and the program based on the first analysis. After the re-analysis, analysis was begun on S4's highest-quality data. S5 has not yet been run; it is scheduled for late 2005 and should reach design sensitivity for the first time.
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